RV FEATURE
Our garage is anything but normal now.
Many caravans manufactured these days are so heavy that a combustion engine in a vehicle designed to tow 3500-plus kilos is the only option.
So far, in 2026, almost one in five new cars sold in Australia was an electric vehicle of some description. It is a staggering rise, whichever way you look at it. If you take into consideration the huge rise in the cost of fuel, particularly diesel, it must be a clear warning to the caravan industry that the days of big internal combustion cars towing heavy caravans are coming to an end. Caravan manufacturers must start looking at their product ranges now and start developing products that can cater for the needs of the EV / hybrid market.
You don’ t have to look too hard to see what is possible. In Europe, they’ ve been making caravans that can be towed by small to medium SUVs for many years. Some of their designs are quite extraordinary. And they don’ t skimp on space and equipment either. It’ s not unusual to see 18 to 19ft caravans with Tare weights below 1500kg and ATMs around the 2000kg mark. That is well within the towing capacity of a Tesla Model X( unfortunately not available in Australia) and within the towing capacity of many larger hybrids, such as the BYD Shark and the GWM Tank 300 hybrid.
I will admit that European vans have not been all that popular in Australia. The main issue is that they are built for European road conditions. Australia is a very harsh country, even if you stick to the blacktop. Regardless, there would have to be some design aspects of these vans that Australian manufacturers could use to lighten their products.
One other market we should be looking at is in the good ol’ USA. Yes, the home of the oversized pick-up truck and 36ft fifthwheelers is also home to a handful of manufacturers who are making‘ travel trailers’( their term for caravans) specifically for the hybrid and EV market.
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